Sky Lions: The Beginning
by Myra the Sark
Summary: Shortly after defeating Lotor, the team is abducted by some Monterrans...and have to deal with some surprising changes that will complicate things indefinitely.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: This takes place shortly after the team dispose of Lotor the FIRST time, so they're the ages they are in the original series. _Ex,_ Pidge is a twelve-year-old in this, since he was that age in the original series. And there's a good chance this will be re-written eventually. ~Myra  
**

* * *

**Keith's POV**

Keith forced his eyes open. He blinked several times, trying to adjust to the dim light in the room…wherever that room was. Far above him was a stone roof, and water slowly dripped down from the ceiling, probably from a leaky pipe. There were no windows, and only one dim light above. He tried standing, only to bash his head on something. When he looked, he was shocked to see that he was in a crate of some kind. _What happened? Last I remember we were at the castle…wait a minute!_

He remembered—he was sparring with Lance, and then he felt something hit him in the side of his head, causing him to black out. _Someone attacked us._ The aviator looked, and saw four other crates—Lance, Hunk, and Allura were in three of them. But the last, the smallest one, was empty.

There was a groan from Lance, and he sat up. "My head," Red Lion's pilot complained. "What the heck happened?"

"I don't know," Keith said. "Someone attacked us."

At that moment, four people came into the room, all wearing white lab coats.

"Oh my God," one said, staring at Keith through the grate. "It really is them—Voltron Force!" He turned excitedly to the others. "Do you know that the Director wants to make them part of the P3 project?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure I believed it," said another. "So, they're Subjects One, Two, Three, Four, and Five?"

"Yeah, and Flint's daughter is Subject Six." He then looked at Keith again, and spoke slowly, as if he thought that they didn't understand him. "Come on, now. You four are wanted in lab seven. You're little friend's there waiting already."

They worked to pick up the crate Keith was in, and placed it on a large wheelbarrow-like object. They did the same with Lance's, Allura's, and Hunk's.

"Who are you and where are you bringing us?" Allura demanded. No answer.

As they were rolled down the hall, Keith noted the constant smell of disinfectant and chemicals of some kind. They soon reached an open room. There were six tables, two being occupied. One had a nineteen-year-old girl with sandy-brown hair on it, and she was unconscious. Multiple tubes were stuck into her, putting some kind of orange liquid into her.

On the other table…

"Pidge," Hunk whispered fiercely. The little pilot was also unconscious, and also had a bunch of needles jammed into him, also putting the same kind of clear liquid into him. Keith then realized that one of the "scientists" was trying to stick a mask of some kind onto him. He attempted to back up, but he banged his head against the back of the crate. The scientist managed to clip the mask onto him. His vision blurred and then it went completely black within seconds.

* * *

His eyes snapped open. He was back in that same room he started in, except now he was completely sore all over. When he looked over himself, he saw that there were about thirteen bandages on him. _What the heck did those guys _do_? _He looked around, and saw that Lance, Allura, and Hunk were in similar states. The other girl was nowhere in sight. Keith jumped when he heard Pidge say, "Oh good, you're not dead." He looked over at the twelve-year-old. "And at least you weren't made to run through a maze. It was _humiliating_."

In a lower voice, Keith asked, "Do you have any idea what planet we're on?"

"Monterra."

Pidge's answer made Keith groan mentally. Monterra was close to the Galaxy Alliance's border—but it was in Lylat. They would have a _heck_ of a time getting back to Arus…


	2. Chapter 2

**Lance's POV**

Lance groaned for the millionth time. Two whole weeks had gone by, all filled with more injections, and more very painful experiments.

"I wish we could go back to Arus," Pidge mumbled for the millionth time. Sympathetic replies came from Allura and Hunk.

"You and me both, shorty," Lance said, and then he froze. A shivery feeling came over him—the type of feeling you get when you knew something was going to happen. The others apparently had this feeling, because they all went stiff. There was dead silence. And then—

Someone ran a knife down his back. "Aghhh!" he screamed. The pain was so sudden, and was over just as quickly. He fell onto his hands, panting heavily. Stars flew in front of his eyes for a few seconds. Looking up, he saw the others in a similar state—Pidge had fallen over, and so had Allura. Hunk's eyes were dilated, but Keith hadn't let out a single sound. What the hell just happened? Red Lion's pilot looked around warily. No scientists. Another stab of pain made him gasp and arch his back. He turned his head, and felt at his back, searching for a wound or a puncture. When he took his hand away, it was soaked in blood. His breath rattled out as he heard Allura say, "Wh-What was that?"

Now he could feel the blood now, thick and wet, clumped on his skin, sticking to his clothes. He was beginning to feel a bit weak. He looked at the others, and they were all shaking, also bleeding heavily. Keith had turned his face away, but Lance could still see the pure agony that was expressed on the commander's features.

But when he focused on Pidge—who was lying face-down, panting, Lance could see, under the blood and twisted pieces of fabric, something that should not be there. Something slimy and boned that poked out of his skin…

Another wave of pain was all that was needed to send the pilot into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Allura's POV**

Allura forced her eyes open. She dimly noticed that someone had come and bandaged her back and wiped the blood away, but she still hurt. Looking around, she saw the others still unconscious. Their crates had been cleaned as well. But what had attacked them?

The hurt came and went. At some point, the Monterrans had come and put gags over all their mouths, so that their outcries wouldn't be heard. It felt as if someone was slowly lacerating their backs, cutting them open. It got so bad, that eventually the scientists kept a continuous supply of anesthetic flowing into them, so everything was one giant haze for…she didn't know how long.

Except for one time in which they ran out of anesthetic and the princess could finally think clearly. "Guys?" she asked. They all looked at her—Pidge still looked a bit hazy, but he was younger, so the anesthetic would last longer on him, of course. "I think…" She paused, another shudder of agony going through her. "I think we might be growing wings."

They all remained quiet. It seemed they'd all deduced that if the pain wasn't coming from outside, it must be coming from inside. Something was happening inside them.

And the princess would bet Blue Lion itself that it had to do with how those scientists had used enough anesthetic on them the first day to send them into unconsciousness. They had done something, but what?

A few more days came and passed. The agonizing feelings were getting fewer and further in between. Then they just stopped.

They all looked up sharply when they heard a door open, and a group of scientists crowded into the room. One stepped forward, a woman with dirty-blond hair, and started speaking. "As you can see, these are the first successful avian-human hybrids we have been able to produce. The previous experiments had all expired soon after the effects of the formula we injected them with. We don't know what is different about this group that made them survive out of all the others, but we can have you examine them later: the new danaus-plexippus growth procedure obviously worked, as you can tell. Come with me, and I have some more information about these particular mutants down the hallway…' Her voice drifted away as she led the group down the hall.

Allura blinked. _Avian? That means bird…human-avian hybrids…then, that pain must be—_

She reached a hand to where the pain had always come from, and stopped. She felt something, something that should't've been there. What…? She looked, and saw that the others were looking at her with a mixture of shock and—wonder? "Keith," she asked, an idea forming. "Could you turn around?"

He complied, and Allura started violently.

On Black Lion's pilot's back were a set of wings.

They had no feathers or color, just skin stretched over a set of bones. They were small and limp, but what they were was still the same. He had wings.

The others followed her gaze, and instantly felt at their own backs. Pidge said something in Baltan, while Lance said something that sounded like "Ohmygod."

"What did those guys do to us?" Hunk asked shakily.

* * *

**Pidge's POV**

Pidge was left in a state of mute shock. How can we have wings? It just isn't—isn't possible…but I guess it is. An idea formed. Maybe… Eyes narrowing in concentration, he tried to reach into some nerve cells that must be there now, and tried to move one of his new limbs. Nothing. Maybe the nerve cells havn't grown in yet…but there's one way to check. He ran a finger along one wing. Some sort of feeling sparked within him as soon as he did. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. Determined, he tried moving that same wing again…and it quivered. Then spread slightly. His jade-green eyes lit up in a mix of wonder and delight. They were defying every single law of nature, but…it felt right somehow.

He stopped when he heard more voices. "Let me see these things." The voice—a man's—was so dang cold sounding that Pidge shivered. He then walked into the room, a scientist behind him.

The man had ragged black hair, and pale skin, but the scary part was that he had crimson, catlike eyes. "Well, well," he said. "Look at you lot. Winged freaks." He chuckled.

"Alpha," the scientist warned.

"Lemme have some fun with 'em," the thing said. And then he grinned, showing that he had nothing but canine teeth, ivory-white and sharp as knives. Then he started changing. Slowly, his features seemed to stretch, his nose and mouth being pulled until it became a snout, his hands turned into paws, and claws grew out of his fingernails. Scales appeared over his skin, and the whites of his eyes vanished, replaced with more crimson. He shot up in stature and in size too. It was a…a…Pidge didn't know what it was. One word seemed to fit: Hunter. Part dog, part snake, part human. It fit perfectly.

They'd dealt with Drules, Robeasts, and Lotor—more recently mazes, treadmills, experiments, crazy doctors and scientists, but nothing like this.

One thing was certain. All of them were frightened.

* * *

**Okay. The team grew wings (though no feathers...yet) and they saw their first Hunter, Alpha. He will be very important in the series. ~Myra**


	3. Chapter 3

**New characters in this one! And to clear things up for people who have not seen the orignal series, here are everyone's ages: Keith = 21, Lance = 22, Pidge = 12, Allura = 16, and Hunk = 23.  
**

* * *

**Hunk's POV**

Hunk jumped when he heard a door open, and he looked to see one scientist wheeling in a crate. Inside the crate was a girl who looked a little older than Allura, maybe by two years. And she had wings. As in, _fully fledged wings_. They were a good deal bigger than his—because his and the other's weren't done growing in yet—and covered in cyan-colored feathers, reminding him of a type of parrot…_Wasn't it a Spix's Macaw or something?_ He overheard the scientist say, "Stupid Dussel. Going ahead with an unauthorized project…guy should work in the fast-food industry." He dumped the crate besides Hunk's and left. Yellow Lion's pilot took a closer account of the girl. She had brown hair, a few shades lighter than Pidge's, and blue eyes. But her eyes had a milky look to them…_Is she blind?_

"Uh, hello?" he started. She startled, and turned her head to look at him.

"Who's there?" she asked fiercely.

Now the others looked. "Hi," Pidge said, and the girl looked around.

"How many of you are there?" She sounded wary.

"Five," Keith said. "Who are you?"

She huffed. "Name's Jewel. I take it you five are just some random people picked up off the streets?"

"No," Allura said.

Lance added, "We're the Voltron Force."

Jewel's eyes widened. "_Voltron Force_? In the name of Galixion…these guys are getting crazier and crazier."

"Um, what's wrong with your eyes?" Hunk asked hesitantly.

Jewel sighed in response. "You see…about an hour ago, one of the scientists decided he was gonna try to _improve_ my eyesight. He messed up, and…" Her voice cracked. "Now I can't see anything at all."

Hunk's eyes widened, and he heard Pidge and Allura gasp.

"Oh, uh…I'm sorry to hear that," Lance exclaimed, sounding sympathetic.

"Yeah. That's really harsh," Pidge added.

Keith didn't say anything, but Hunk knew what his team leader was thinking. _We've gotta get out of here, before these guy do something like that to _us_._

* * *

**Keith's POV**

Keith awoke to the strangest sensation in the world. His wings—it still felt weird even thinking that—were itching like crazy. Mumbling to himself, he reached to quell the itch…and stopped. He felt something…relatively soft. "What the…?" He looked, and his eyes widened. What had used to be nothing but skin stretched over muscle and bone was now covered in fuzzy white stuff. He ran a finger through it, wondering.

Then it hit him like a cinder block. _I have down feathers._ "Guys?" he said, sounding weird. The others lifted their heads, blinking sleepily.  
"What?" Jewel asked irritably.

"I have down feathers."

"_HUH?_" They all—except for Jewel—took account of themselves, apparently finding the same thing. "Wow! It's soft!" Pidge exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know," Jewel said. "I've went through it already. Won't be long until the flight feathers come in. But here's a heads-up—they'll be doing more experiments."

"Oh no," Allura moaned. "I don't know what I'll do if I have to run another maze."

"Me either. I'm sick of it," Lance said.

All further conversation was halted as a lone scientist came into the room. Surprisingly, he looked similar to Jewel. He looked around, and then said, "Don't worry. I'm here to get you all out of here."


	4. Chapter 4

**Lance's POV**

Lance's eyes widened as he digested the scientist's meaning. "Wait…you're—getting us _out_?" he asked in disbelief. The scientist nodded, smiling faintly.

"Yes, I am," he said. Jewel raised her head.

"So _now_ you come to get me out, dad."

"_DAD?_" the team exclaimed.

Red Lion's pilot then remembered overhearing a scientist say something about "Subject Six" being "Flint's daughter". Ergo, Jewel was this scientist's daughter.

He involuntarily flinched back when Flint managed to move his crate to a large flatbed cart. Being treated like a lab-rat tended to do that to someone. Then he got Keith, then Allura, and so on.

As they were going down the hall, Lance shuddered when they had to pass by the one known as Alpha. He sneered at them as they went by, and said loudly, "I hear they _terminate_ the old projects eventually."

"Don't worry," Flint—as that was him—said. "He's just trying to get at you."

"Yeah, he did," Hunk said.

And then they were outside. The sensation of seeing so much blue and green again were so shocking to him after so long of seeing nothing but white, gray, black, and peoples' eye colors stunned him.

Something caught Lance's eye. On one side of the path, there was a statue of…a winged wolf. The statue had been carved out of white marble, and great detail had been put into the feathers. As they passed, though, Lance had a feeling as if the statue was actually _watching_ them…

After looking around, making sure no other scientists were around, Flint managed to load all six crates onto a large truck. And they were on their way.

* * *

**Allura's POV**

The ride was bumpy, but Blue Lion's pilot didn't care. They were free, free, _free_. Fresh air tasted _so_ good! Allura made a decision—always spend at least two hours outside. She could tell the others felt the same exact way, from how they were all looking around. The look on Pidge's face nearly made her laugh. He just looked so incredibly _happy_; she hadn't seen him like that in about a month.

Strangest of all was the sensation of wind running through her down feathers. Feeling mischievous, she spread the new appendages slightly, feeling them catch the air. The other saw, and after exchanging quick looks, did the same. Looks of surprise and instinctual joy lit their faces.

If only she had flight feathers…but that would come soon enough.

* * *

**Pidge's POV**

The moment he'd been waiting for.

As soon as the crate door was open, Pidge practically _flew_ out of it. He stretched every muscle that was cramped, including his wings. "Wow!" Hunk yelled, jumping. "I can actually stand up!"

Pidge grinned at his friend, and looked at the others. Keith and Lance were both scanning the area—a mountainous area with a cavern on top of a hard-to-notice ledge with a meadow in front of it—for danger. Allura was up on the ledge, looking around. Jewel was sitting under a tree, her gaze distant.

Frowning slightly, Pidge made his way over, and said, "What's wrong?"

Jewel sighed. "It's just…I'm _blind_, for Amaries' sake. I know what it's like to see, but…knowing that I won't be able to ever again is just…"

Pidge was quiet. He knew that both he and his brother had nasty cases of nearsightedness and needed glasses for everything, but being blind…

_Wait…_Chip_!_ In the whole month, not a single through of his brother had crossed his mind. "He must think I'm dead!" he cried out loud.

"Who?" Jewel asked. The others, including Flint, ran over at hearing him yell.

"My brother!" Green Lion's pilot wailed. "I bet everyone thinks we're dead!"

"Oh _God_," Keith breathed out, realizing Pidge was right. "Now we really need to get back to Arus."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible for about a week or two," Flint said. "There's no way in the name of Imari that you'll make it on foot."

"Then…what can we do?" Allura asked.

It was Jewel who answered. "We fly."


	5. Chapter 5

**Normal POV**

"Flying will be more difficult than you probably think," Flint explained. They were all in the ledge-top cavern—about fifteen feet in, big enough for them all to stand up in with extra room—and Flint was explaining the fundamentals of flight to them. "Of course, you'll have to wait until your flight feathers start to come in, which shouldn't be long, considering how fast Jewel's came in after she got her down."

"Like, _how_ soon, exactly?" Lance asked

Flint grinned widely. "By tomorrow, most likely."

* * *

**Hunk's POV**

By the time Hunk woke up, sunlight had already scorched his eyelids, and he had to shut them again tightly against the light. Grumbling to himself, he took in the surroundings. _Huh, I'm in…a cave? But I thought—oh. _Oh_. Right, Flint got us out. Right…_

He looked around again and saw that he was last up. "Outside," he deduced, and looked. The others, including Flint, were down in the meadow. "What're you doing?" he called.

"Having breakfast!" Jewel called back.

Hunk was down there faster than anyone could say "Yellow Lion." Taking a granola bar, he said, "When did you go out?"

"Before dawn," Flint said. "Only shot I had at not being seen."

Hunk then noticed that Lance wasn't there. He looked around—and saw Red Lion's pilot off by the river, staring at something. "What's wrong Lance?" Pidge asked, noticing as well.

"Uh…" Lance's voice sounded altered. He raised his right wing, and then they noticed what it was.

A single, rusty-brown secondary feather.

* * *

**Keith's POV**

As soon as he saw the single feather on Lance, Keith instantly checked both of his wings. And sure enough, he found a single, pale-silver primary feather on his left wing. Strangest of all was the sensation that ran through him as soon as he saw the feather. Obviously the feather had nerve cells in it, so of course he'd feel it—but it was so _strange_.

"H-Hey! I have one too!" Pidge yelled. "Oh wait, make that two!" Two blue-gray covert feathers were on the young pilot's right wing.

Keith looked, and saw that both Allura and Hunk had found feathers as well—Allura had a brown-red-gold one, while Hunk had a dark-brown one.

Flint grinned widely. "I told you. I'd say within two days, possibly three, you'll be ready for flight."

Flight. That one word set Keith off completely. A breeze blew, ruffling through his feathers—down and flight. Pidge gained an odd expression. "Wait," he said. "If we're gonna fly…wouldn't we need to be _hollow-boned_?"

"Ah, that." Flint's tone was matter-of-fact. "That change has occurred already. Along with a few other changes: you all have heightened physical abilities, and the eyesight of birds-of-prey; heart rate of birds-of-prey as well, meaning you will be hard-pressed to run out of stamina. Unfortunately, it also means that all of you need roughly eight-thousand calories per day…"

_He's kidding…_

"And no, I am not kidding."

* * *

**Lance's POV**

Lance stared hard at the meadow below at dawn. Flint was right: within three days, every single feather had come in. Red Lion's pilot had to admit, his feathers looked very nice. They were mainly a rusty-brown on top, streaked with white below. Hunk had made a connection to a kind of hawk that lived on Earth, a Ferruginous Hawk. _Alright. I'm gonna fly first, no matter what._

Though he kept telling himself this, he always hesitated before leaping. What if it didn't work? It would be quite painful to hit the ground, since the ledge was ten feet up…but there was no way of knowing without trying. Taking a deep breath, he jumped.

And opened his wings.

The sudden air resistance nearly tore them out of their sockets, and he gritted his teeth. He remembered how birds flew: moving their wings up and down.

Praying silently and squeezing his eyes shut, he copied how a bird did it.

After a few moments, he opened his eyes, and looked down. He was hovering. He was _flying_.

A sense of euphoria coming over him, he laughed out loud. He heard shuffling from the cavern, and saw Jewel come to the mouth of the cave, Pidge following.

"Lance you're flying!" Green Lion's pilot yelled suddenly, bringing the others out. "I'm gonna try!"

"Excellent!" Flint shouted. "Now you just need to practice!"

At first, the pilot was incredibly unbalanced, and probably terribly clumsy. Pidge had managed to get two feet up, and now Allura was trying.

Hunk managed to get off the ledge—only to drop like a rock and smash into the ground. "I'm okay!" the strongman called. Everyone laughed.

Jewel spread her wings, and with one powerful flap, was airborne. She gained altitude surprisingly quickly, making Lance ask, "Have you done this before?"

"Nah," she said, but her tone made Lance think otherwise.

Finally, only Keith was still on the ground. "Come on already!" Pidge encouraged. "It's not hard once you get used to it!"

Lance saw Black Lion's pilot take a deep breath and spread his pale-silver wings. And it seemed like milliseconds before he was airborne.

Finally they started descending. Unfortunately they landed rather awkwardly; Lance, Pidge, and Allura all falling flat on their faces. "That was _exemplary_, you six. You'll adapt to it quickly, don't worry." His face was bright, and Lance heard him murmur, "All in good time…"

One thing Lance noticed, however, was how _right_ it had felt to be in the air. It was like they were all part of the sky, and the sky was part of them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Allura's POV**

All Allura was focusing on later that day was practicing on her landings. Especially after the embarrassment of landing flat on her face and having to spit some dirt out, and a small pebble.

But still, she kept stumbling. _At least I'm not falling,_ she eventually thought in defeat.

Poor Pidge had worn himself out completely from flying around so much. He had fallen asleep on the grass near the maple tree, his blue-gray wings spread out. Out of all of them, he had the smallest wingspan, which meant he had to work twice as much to keep in the air.

"It's cool, isn't it princess?"

Allura smiled at Lance's comment. "It is. I'd never thought it possible, though…"

"Me neither. But we proved it possible, didn't we?"

Her smile widened, and then she said, "I just can't get the landings down."

"Pfft. You and me both." He trailed off, a distant look in his eyes. "Weird…" he muttered.

"What's wrong?"

"It's almost like…" He tilted his head slightly to one side. Then his eyes widened. "Oh God."

And at that moment, eight things crashed out of the undergrowth. Humanoid, covered in scales, yellow eyes—one with crimson. _Alpha_. And he had friends.

Hearing the ruckus, Pidge sat up—and literally leaped into the air, wings working furiously. Sneering, one Hunter lifted a rifle.

Only to have it knocked out of his paws by Keith's well-executed jump-kick. "All of you!" Flint screamed. "Fly! Fly now, and don't look back! _Don't look back!_"

They listened, rising into the air within seconds. Gunshots sounded, and Allura felt one whisk past her ear; she'd been that close to being dead. Hunters were shouting and hissing in frustration, but none of it got past their solid wall of concentration.

Eventually all sound faded away except for the wind in their feathers. "Chief?" Hunk called. "What do we do now?"

Allura looked at Keith. He closed his eyes, and then said, "We go east. This way." He angled himself one way, and to Allura's confusion, she somehow _knew_ they were indeed going east. _Perhaps it goes with the avian DNA,_ she mused mentally.

* * *

**Pidge's POV**

They'd been flying east for four hours. And Pidge was _exhausted_. He knew he wouldn't be able to go on for much longer—his wings had long past the point of "strained" and now felt like they were burning. "Keith, I can't keep going!" he eventually wailed.

"Pidge, just try to keep flying!" the commander encouraged.

"I _can't_!" Now Keith looked back at him, and took in the twelve-year-old's expression.

"Alright, let's land somewhere," he said.

Everyone else looked around—except for Jewel, of course. "Ledge-cavern at three-o'-clock chief!" Hunk called, and they all banked down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Pidge collapsed onto the sandy surface, folding his wings back. Everything had quickly gone blurry, and he was aware that someone patted the spot right between his wings—a sensation they all enjoyed very much—and then it went completely black.

When he came around, he was starving. _No surprise there,_ he thought grimly. He sat up, wincing as he shifted his wings. They were extremely sore. Looking around, he saw the others were asleep as well. He grinned as an idea came to mind. He spread his wings, and took a running takeoff. As he gained altitude, he checked his surroundings. The sun was just beginning to come up, giving the surrounding forest a goldish tint. Something caught his eye—a house. _I really shouldn't,_ he thought. _But I have to._

He landed on the porch rail, stumbling slightly. Using a pocketknife that he had received from Flint, he slit the screen, and set it against the wall before climbing in. He made a beeline for the cabinets, opening it to reveal the jackpot: cereal boxes, granola bars, and canned pasta. He quickly stuffed as many as he could in the bag, and after some hesitation, checked the fridge. Pidge grinned when the item at the front caught his eye: a six-pack of vanilla soda.

As soon as he put the sodas in the bag, he heard the doorknob turn. _Oh snart…_ He whipped around right as the door opened.

"Hey!" the house's owner exclaimed, and then he caught sight of the boy's wings. "What the…? _Amaries above!_" Pidge leaped back out of the screen, making sure he had a tight grip on the bag. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that heavy.

_Flint did say that we should be a lot stronger now, so maybe that's it,_ he thought as he winged back toward the cavern where they were staying.

It soon came into sight, and Jewel was sitting up. As soon as Pidge approached, she looked directly at him, and said, "I take it you went out to scavenge?"

"Are you sure you're blind?" Pidge retorted.

"Funny. Hand some food over."

Pidge threw her a granola bar, and then louder, he said, "I got breakfast!" The others woke up quickly, and Pidge passed out granola bars and one soda each. He reached to open his own, and flinched when he pulled the tab back too hard and soda sprayed everywhere. "Whoops," he muttered. _Still not used to it…_

Hunk paused in mid-bite, and then said, "Hey Lance, how did you know the Hunters were coming?"

"Not sure," the older pilot admitted. "I just…_knew_. It was like I was able to feel what…what they were feeling. They _wanted _to hurt us; kill us even."

Jewel's brow furrowed. "My father warned me about this. He said that the last human-avian hybrid that survived almost as long as us before getting terminated developed the ability to read minds spontaneously. As in, he _mutated_ into having that ability."

There was silence. Then Keith said, "So, we're self-mutating."

Jewel nodded. "And judging by Lance's description, he can feel emotions of those around him."

* * *

**Hunk's POV**

Hunk had to admit, flying wasn't all that hard anymore. Heck, it actually seemed _easy_ now, if not natural. They were flying in formation: Keith up front, Lance immediately to his right and Pidge immediately to his left; Allura a little behind and right of Lance and Hunk himself was a little behind and left of Pidge. Jewel trailed close by Pidge, who was guiding her by his wingtips. Those two had bonded very quickly.

Then lights ahead caught Yellow Lion's pilot's eye. "Town ahead!" he called.

"I see it," Keith said. The commander squinted. "Is that the capitol?"

"Is there a tall tower?" Jewel asked.

"Yes."

"Yup, it's the capitol. And that's where the space-port it, so you guys are in luck. …or not."

"Huh? Why?" Pidge asked.

Jewel snorted. "Last time people saw you guys, you were normal people. Now you're avian hybrids. How do you think everyone else is gonna take it?"

Hunk almost stalled in flight. That was a very good point.

* * *

**So, the team flees the cavern, Lance has a self-mutation, and Jewel brings up a good point right as they're almost home. Hopefully I may be able to get the next chapter up by tomorrow or Wednesday, if my dad lets me. And, though this doesn't have to do anything with _Sky Lions_, I got out of my writer's-block for _Lionspirit_, so I'll be working on the first real chapter at school. ~Myra**


	7. Chapter 7

**Keith's POV**

"Okay. If we do this, the wings aren't all that noticeable," Keith told the others. As it turned out, their wings were mostly retractable. Mostly being the key word. They had been forced to "borrow" some clothes from a house's clothing lines. An act they felt guilt for, but it was for survival. They'd also had to make their own "modifications" by cutting slits in the backs of all the shirts to make way for the wings. Lance, meanwhile, had taken advantage and snagged a new brown leather jacket—as his other one had been mostly destroyed when their wings were growing in.

"So let's go!" Lance said, starting toward the capitol's gate.

Monterra's capitol—titled Ancelstierre—was loosely protected, as there was no real reason to. Seldom did a civil war occur on Monterra, and even if one did start, Ancelstierre's high walls would protect it.

Although the city seemed safe, Keith wasn't one for chances, what with the past events. He quickly studied nearly every single face that looked at them, looking for any trace of bright yellow in one person's eyes or the dreaded crimson that individualized Alpha.

He jumped when Lance said, "Loosen up already, chief. You're making me jumpy too."

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**Lance's POV**

Lance shook his head right after he said that. Though he had first though the ability was neat, he now knew it had its downsides. For one, he was aware of every single person within ten feet of himself. He could hardly distinguish his own emotions from everyone else's in the crowd.

Worst of all were his teammates' senses of fear and apprehension' being surrounded by so many people for the first time in a month was making them claustrophobic. Like his own.

Suddenly he froze, looking behind them. There were two men, with black hair and bright, catlike yellow eyes—Hunters. Already?

One grinned, and made a finger-gun gesture at him, and mocked shooting it. "Chief," he muttered, casing a sideways glance at Keith. Keith saw, and nodded slightly, tapping Allura's hand. The princess stiffened, and tapped Pidge's shoulder, and so on.

"Now!" Keith shouted, and they all rocketed down the street. The Hunters shouted in Monterran, and raced after them, transforming. Civilians, as soon as they saw what was going on, panicked and withdrew from the streets.

Eventually they came to the open square that was right outside the space-port. And—

There were about eighteen Hunters there waiting for them, including Alpha. Twenty when the two others caught up, not even fazed.

Lance had to admit, he was surprised—he wasn't even close to being out of breath. Like Flint said, he thought. He then turned his thoughts to the emotions he was mainly picking up. Ones of aggression, of malice, and of bloodlust, all mixed together. It surrounded the Hunters like a thunderhead: churning, constantly lashing at nothing, and black as night.

"Hmm…" Alpha muttered. "I don't get it. It's almost like you _don't_ want to go back to the University." He sneered, showing his fangs.

Lance shuddered, and looked at Keith. "What're we gonna do?" he asked lowly.

"We fight," Black Lion's pilot responded.

"And me?" Jewel asked softly. "I can't fight if I can't see."

"I'll cover you Jewel," Pidge said, and turned to glare at Alpha. "There's no way they're bringing us back to that place. Not ever!"

Pidge's pure enthusiasm almost made Lance smile. With no warning, the younger pilot flew forward, smacking right into one Hunter, making his breath go out in a _fphoo_. Allura smacked another in the face with a jump-kick, leaping off another's head like a springboard, finally coming down on two others. Jewel, meanwhile, was like a ninja—dashing in and out, only using her sense of hearing to know where the Hunters were. Most of them were avoiding Hunk—they get too close, good chance they'd go flying into cement. Adrenaline had put Lance into autopilot, dashing this way and that, avoiding Hunter claws and fangs and even bullets. Keith, meanwhile, was battling one-on-one with Alpha. The commander made a few feints—dashing close and then leaping back, and other times running right by while flicking one wing in the lead Hunter's face, making him back up. Alpha's rage only added to Lance's determination to keep fighting.

Finally, Alpha let out a roar, leaping toward Pidge, claws ready. Reacting on a hair-trigger, Lance flew forward—literally—and sailed into the Hunter like a guided missile. He backed off quickly while the leader picked himself up. He glared at the second-in-command, and then at all of the others. "You may have one this time," he said in a dangerously-low pitch, a hissing undertone in the words. "But know this—it is not over." He threw a small capsule to the ground, and it exploded into smoke, causing them all to have coughing fits. When it cleared, the Hunters were gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**O_O I am _sooooo_ stupid. I forgot to put this chapter on before getting the sequel up! ~Myra**

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**Allura's POV**

Allura was beyond excited. After a month and a half of being in that torturous place, they were _finally_ on their way back to Arus. They'd all waited out for two hours, then returning to Ancelstierre and heading for the space-port. Once there, they'd snuck onto a carrier headed for Arus. "I can't believe it!" Pidge shouted happily. "We're going home!" The twelve-year-old was literally bouncing up and down out of excitedness, even dashing around the spacious storage room they'd hid in.

She saw Lance trying—and failing—in hiding a smile, probably due to picking up on Pidge's infectious mood. "I know," he said, giving in. "Can't wait to get back in Red Lion's cockpit, either."

"Heard that!" Hunk agreed.

But it was all dampened, however. Ultimately, Jewel had decided to stay on her home planet. "I can take care of myself," she promised. "Hey, if Lancey here self-mutated, then I'll probably get some form of sight eventually." She had completely ignored Lance's loudly-proclaimed protests at the nickname she'd given him. Keith, meanwhile, was staring out one of the side windows at the passing stars.

Frowning slightly, Allura went up next to him. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"What Alpha said. They know we live on Arus. They'll come after us eventually."

Allura bit her lip. He was right—and if they'd been abducted from the castle once, it could easily happen again. "We'll step up the security," she promised. "Then we won't need to worry." Keith didn't say anything else after that.

But what he had said still lingered in the princess's mind. Something was telling her that…they hadn't seen the last of the Hunters or the University, not by a long shot. But how or when they'd next take part in the team's lives, she did not know.


End file.
